Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Second Chance Pass-Robyn Carr

Second Chance PassRobyn CarrMira, Feb 2009, $5.99ISBN: 0778326462

Friends Matt Rutledge and Paul Haggerty meet flight attendant Vanessa Booth, the daughter of a retired general. Matt pursued Vanni until they married; while Paul ever the marine stayed out of the way of their romance though he loved her too. However, Matt died leaving behind his pregnant widow.

Vanni raises their son Matt in Virgin River. She wants to move on with her life, but wants to do so with Paul who she loves. Paul loves her and her son, but he cannot act on his feelings out of honor to his fallen comrade who was killed in Baghdad and knowing he owes all to his pregnant lover Terri; he will do what is right by her and their offspring once the child is born and by his late best friend and his family.

The latest Virgin River contemporary romance (see SHELTER MOUNTAIN, WHISPERING ROCK, A VIRGIN RIVER CHRISTMAS, and VIRGIN RIVER) is an enjoyable tale that displays Robyn Carr’s talent as the plot skirts but never quite enters soap opera territory. The extended cast is strong (a trademark of this series). Although Paul seems too principled at times to be human, his morality makes the tale work as he tries to do what he believes in his marine heart is the honorable choice, but each step he takes seems filled with IEDs. Fans will relish this fine tale as the marine learns that values are complex and convoluted when it runs up against the values of others especially when heart felt in relationships forge.